The Girl With Two Hearts
by StillNotKing42
Summary: Merlin stumbles upon a bloody and beaten girl in the forest. He quickly learns that she was held captive by someone with terrible magic. Her soul is split in half. She is good, and evil. Merlin becomes intrigued with this strange girl, and so does Prince Arthur. Can this mystery girl save herself and Camelot? Or will she succumb to her evil side, and be its ruin? AU
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one

Merlin

"Why am I the one who has to do EVERYTHING?! Between Arthur and Gaius I never get any time off! This destiny thing is hard work, I have to protect Arthur, hide my magic, and above it all Arthur thinks I'm a moron! That prat!" I think to myself, "Well it's not that bad. Arthur has become a friend, but I would never tell him that, and he would never admit to being friends with his servant." I sigh, "Really need to stop going on these rants in my head. One day I might slip up and say something out loud!"

I stop my inner monologue and continue walking to the woods outside of Camelot. "Off to pick herbs for Gaius, I need a day off!" I am about to go off on another rant when I hear a noise. I stop and listen, it sounds like someone running. I am about to go towards the source of the sound, when someone runs right into me. "What the hell," I shout as we both tumble towards the ground.

I am a little disoriented, and I feel a weight being lifted off my chest. I look up, and I see the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. She has long tangled dark hair. Her eyes are a piercing green color, but I see panic in them. "What's wrong? Why are you running?" I ask. She gives me a look of dread, and looks like she is going to flee. "Wait," I say softly. "It's okay, you can trust me." I smile.

While she is deciding if she can trust me or not, I look her over. Her once blue dress is torn into shreds, and it appears that she has quite a large cut on her leg. She used torn strips of her dress to bandage herself up. She is very pale, like she has lost a lot of blood. Also, she had minor cuts and scrapes all over her arms and one vicious looking cut on her left cheek. She doesn't have any shoes on, and it looks as though she has used strips of her dress as makeshift shoes as well. "WHAT happened to you?" I ask again this time more urgently.

"My name...Is Isabella." She says, it seems like it's a struggle for her to talk. "I…. Was…captured. Please…Help me!" She cried the last two words out, then takes a step towards me, and passes out. I use my magic to catch her as she falls. "I have to get her back to Camelot; there must be something I can do to save her." I think. My herbs forgotten, I race back to where my horse is, and place her sitting in front of me. I pull my horse into a run, but it's not fast enough, Isabella is dying, I can feel her life force fading away. It as is we have some sort of connection, but that's impossible, we have only just met!

As we race back to Camelot, I find myself wishing that Gaius was here. This was the perfect time for him to go to help treat people in the outlying villages; he won't be back for ages. "Actually, it might be a good thing Gaius is gone." I really don't know how he would react to seeing a strange girl in our shared quarters. I laugh to myself; I find humor in the strangest things!

When we finally get back to the palace, I jump off my horse and take Isabella in my arms, I start to run up the stairs to my chambers, when I realize how odd it will look if someone happens to see me. I very quickly perform a spell, now if anyone sees us; their thoughts will be redirected elsewhere. I'm so pleased I took the time to learn that spell!

I get to my chambers without anyone seeing us, and I lay Isabella down on my bed. She is shivering and muttering, as though she has a fever. I suddenly wish that I had let Gaius teach me more about the art of healing. I just hope I can save her, I have only just met her, and I feel I cannot live without her.

Isabella

When I awake, I do not know where I am. I remember escaping from the place I was being held, and I remember running for my life. And then, there was some one, a young man. He said he would help me, he said I could trust him. For the first time in my life, I believed. I believed that I could trust this young man. I don't know why, I just do.

Before I had a chance to think on it further, he entered the room. I was amazed, this man, who I did not know, had saved my life. I think he saw me staring at him; he blushed, and quickly said, "Hello, my name is Merlin. Before you passed out, you told me your name is Isabella. Is that right?" when I nodded, he smiled. He had a beautiful smile, it light up his whole face.

"What happened to me, Merlin?" I asked, before he had the chance to say anything else. "Where am I?" He smiled when I said his name, I barely know this man, Merlin. And yet, I feel I would do anything to see that smile again. What's happening to me?

"As for what happened to you," he answered, "I was hoping that you could tell me. When I found you, you were running through the woods. You fainted before I could ask why." I blushed when he said that, I'm not really sure why. He smiled again, and then continued.

"As for where you are, that's easy! You're in Camelot, in the palace to be exact." I was shocked; I didn't know what to say. If I was in the palace, surely he was a prince. "Sire, please forgive me," I started, but before I could finish, Merlin burst out laughing.

"You…Think…I'm….The prince?!" he was laughing so hard tears were coming out of his eyes. "No, Isabella, I'm not the prince!" He was still laughing, but it looked as though he was trying to stop. I loved the way he said my name, and I loved his laugh. This truly has the most amazing man I had ever met.

"Okay, if you're not the prince," I said, "Then what are you? What do you do here in the palace?" I looked at him with question in my eyes. He smiled again, oh, that smile; His smile, Merlin's smile.

"I'll tell you, but first, get dressed, and then tell me, what happened to you? Why were you running through the woods?" He said, and then he started to leave the room. "I laid out some of my clothes for you on the chair over there," and he pointed to a chair in the corner. "When you get dressed, come out to the main room, it's just down the stairs." He smiled and left the room.

I looked down at myself and realized I was only covered with a sheet. My dress was gone! I turned a bright shade of red, he must have undressed me. When I got up to get dressed, I noticed that my leg had been bandaged properly, and all my other cuts had been tended to. Even my back, where I had been whipped.

I looked at the clothes Merlin had laid out for me; A brown jacket, a pair of trousers, a blue shirt, and a red neckerchief. I quickly put them on, I was eager to speak to Merlin some more. We had a lot to talk about.

(Author note: Reviews are great! Please review! I would just like to note, this is an alternate universe. (Oh and I don't own Merlin.) Lancelot and Gwaine are knights. Morgana and Gwen aren't in this story. And, if I ever just quotes from any show, I will out a little star* by it, and tell you where it's from in the a/n. and make sure you keep reading! It's going to get really good!)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Merlin

When Isabella came into the main room, I was captivated. Her dark hair hung over her shoulders in tangled waves. She was wearing my blue shirt, and red neckerchief, sadly she looked better than I usually did. My trousers were a little big on her, but they fit, more or less, she had rolled them up at the ankles. "We match," I said, smiling. "Well sort of, I'm wearing a red shirt, and a blue neckerchief. And you're wearing the opposite." I am such a fool. Why would I point something out like that? What's wrong with me?

Instead of saying anything to my stupidity, she just smiled and sat down in the chair opposite to me. "We have much to discuss." She said, and she looked me in the eye. Most women would not dare to do such a thing; most women thought they had to be meek. I like the fact that she is not afraid to be strong.

"Yes, we do," I said. "First, what happened to you? When I found you were badly bleeding, and you looked as though you had been tortured." Those are the questions I had to ask, not the questions I want to ask, such as: 'Why do I feel a connection to you? Why are you so beautiful?' And the one I wanted to ask the most: 'Do you feel the same way about me as I feel about you?'

"It is as you say," she said, "I was captured, and tortured." She said this with a straight face, but I could see the pain behind her eyes. I want to reach out to her, comfort her, I just don't know if it's the right thing to do. We haven't known each other for long, but I feel connected to Isabella in some way.

Instead of reaching out and wrapping my arms around her, I say, "Please, tell me the whole story."

"Well," she starts slowly, "I don't remember much, but I do remember a man, my capture." She paused for a breath, "he wanted something, and he asked me all these questions, questions about things I had never heard of. And when I failed to answer, well, you've seen my back." She smiled weakly, and then resumed her tale, "I don't remember much else, but there is something. My first day of captivity, he told me: 'You will be the perfect weapon when I'm through with you.' He had this cruel smile, then he said strange words, words I didn't understand, and..."

She didn't continue, and I realized she was sobbing very quietly, but sobbing nonetheless. I went over to her, and wrapped my arms around her. "its okay," I said to her," You don't have to tell me." With that she pulled back from my embrace, and wiped her eyes on her sleeve.

"I'm sorry; I want to tell you, you have done so much for me." And she smiled, took a few deep breaths and resumed her story. "When he said the strange words, his eyes flashed gold, and my body was consumed with the most horrible pain you could ever imagine. I felt as though my soul was being split in two, and the night before I escaped I overheard them talking about me. He was telling someone that I was halfway complete, and also to watch out for 'grey' because gray was evil, he said: 'Green is good and grey is evil.' and that I would be 'the downfall of Uther.' That's when she looked straight into my eyes and said, "Can you tell me any of this means? Please!" she begged.

I could have lied to her, said I didn't know anything. But I tell her the truth, "I don't know what everything means, but the eyes flashing gold, that's definitely magic. And it seems that he was trying to turn you evil. You must be very strong willed to be able to resist magic for so long, most people would have broken the first day." I was seriously impressed with her, she was very strong. "Do you have any idea what this man could have wanted you as a weapon for?"

She sighed, "I only heard one word, and I hope it has nothing to do with me being half evil. That word was: Camelot." She must have seen the look on my face, for she quickly said, "I shouldn't be here, I endanger you, and everyone else. I need to go." Before I could say anything, she said, "Thank you, Merlin. I owe you my life, I will not forget you." Then she got up and turned to leave, I quickly got up and grabbed her arm, "You are not going anywhere, will help you with your problem, I don't believe you're evil," I said. "Besides, you can't travel with your leg and back. Please, don't leave."

"Thank you, Merlin." She smiled, "I will never be able to find a way to repay you. I promise that when I'm strong enough, I will leave."

"You're not going anywhere, you will stay as long as you want, and then I'll make you stay longer. Now, please sit down, and let me change the bandage on your leg." I said firmly, she did as I asked and sat back down.

Then she asked, "What is your position here in the palace?"

"Well," I said, "I am the personal servant of Prince Arthur, and I live with the court physician, Gaius." As an afterthought I said, "Speaking of Gaius, he will be back tomorrow, and I still need to gather herbs for him. I hope I have time tomorrow."

"You said you are the servant to the Prince?" she asked, and I nodded, then she smiled and said, "I'll fill in for you tomorrow, that way you can pick your herbs for Gaius, and all will be well!" she must have seen the look on my face and said, "It's the least I can do, you saved my life, I would be lying dead in the forest if it wasn't for you. Please, let me do this."

"Okay," I said, as I started re-bandaging her leg. "I'll let you do it, just this once. Let me explain what you must do, and then off to bed with you," I smiled, "You have a big day tomorrow, you get to met the prince!"

(Author note: sorry I didn't post yesterday! Keep reviewing! I love you all!)


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Isabella

"What was I thinking?! I think to myself, I am walking down a very long corridor that leads to Prince Arthur's rooms, I realize that I would have killed someone if I had tried to pick the herbs for Merlin, but why did I volunteer to be the Prince's manservant (maidservant?) for the day? "I just wanted to be helpful; after all, Merlin did save my life. This was the only thing I could think to do that would repay him." I think, "How is the Prince going to react to this?"

I am thrown out of my inner monologue when I realize where I am, in front of the Prince's doors. I take a deep breath, "this is it," I think to myself. I grab the door handles before I can change my mind. And slowly, very slowly, I open the doors.

As I enter Prince Arthur's room, I try to remember the things Merlin told me to do. Set the prince's food out, wake up the prince….. And that's all I remember. I start to set His Highness' breakfast out for Him, when my mind begins to wander. I start to think about the conversation I had with Merlin last night. I couldn't bear to tell him the whole truth; I had to keep some of it a secret. If I had told him, told him about what my capture really did to me.

He split my soul in two! I am good, but I also fear I am evil. There is a part of me that wonders which side will win out. Sometimes, when I am angry, or frightened, the evil side comes out. Instead of wanting to run, like I should, I want to stay and fight. That thing inside on me, want to hurt whoever I am angry at, or afraid of. I'm scared of what I could do. And, I'm scared of what people would do to me if they found out. I'm scared of what Merlin would think of me…

I am so lost in my thoughts that I don't realize where I'm going, and I crash right into the Prince's table. As I fall, the food and the platter fly into the air and crash to the floor with a loud BANG. I freeze, and just stare at the mess I have made.

I quickly look at the Prince's bed, hoping that he somehow slept through all that noise. Slowly, very slowly, I see the Princes eyes start to open…..

Arthur

I hear a loud bang, as I awaken from my sleep. "Merlin," I think to myself. Slowly I open my eyes, and shout, "Merlin, you idiot! What did you do this time?!"

Still half asleep, I slowly look at the mess Merlin has made, food everywhere. My eyes scan the room for my servant, I see him bent over the mess, trying, in vain, to clean up. "Come here, Merlin."

As he slowly gets off the floor, I realize the person in my room, dressed like my servant, is not Merlin. Now I am fully awake, I jump out of bed and grab my sword. "Who are you?" I demand.

The intruder turns to face me, I realize it's only a young woman. She is very beautiful, long tangled dark waves hang in her face. Her green eyes look at me with fear. That's when I remember I am still holding my sword. "Who are you." I say, more kindly this time.

"My name is Isabella." She says, and then she quickly adds, "My lord."

"Why are you in my chambers, Isabella? And why are you dressed like my servant?" I ask, puzzled. She really is dressed exactly like Merlin; she is even wearing that stupid neckerchief he always wears.

"Oh, yes! Sorry!" she says hastily, she looks embarrassed, I smile at that. "Merlin had to go and pick some herbs for…" She looks frustrated, like she should know, but doesn't. I smile at this too.

"Gaius?" I supply helpfully.

"Yes! That's his name!" she looks happy now, she is smiling, she really has a beautiful smile, it makes me trust her, which is insane, I am the crown prince, damn it! I can't trust random girls who show up in my room; even if she is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen.

"Yes, so. Merlin went to pick herbs for Gaius. And I offered to help out with his duties as your servant." She said, and then she added, as an afterthought, "Sire."

"Okay, that part I understand, but how did you and Merlin meet? And why on earth are you wearing his clothes?!" I ask again.

She looks like she is about to answer, when my father, King Uther, bursts into my chambers. He looks at me, then does a double take and looks at the blushing girl, dressed like my servant. He looks back at me. I realize how this must look.

"Father," I begin. But he cuts me off before I can get any further with my explanation.

"Why is there a girl dressed like your servant, in your room?" Before I can answer, he yells, "Guards!" When they come rushing in, he says, "Take his girl," and he looks in Isabella's direction, then continues. "Take this girl to the throne room, I will be there shortly, I need to speak with my son."

Isabella shoots me a look of pure fear, and for a moment her eyes look gray, and I could have sworn they were green before. But I must be mistaken, because then, as she is drug out of my room her wide, fear-filled eyes, are green again.

Isabella

I am lead, drug, from The Princes chambers, to the throne room. I am thrown onto the ground and told to get on my knees. Before too long, Merlin joins me, kneeling on the floor. I hate that he is here because of me. (I assume His Royal Highness told the king about Merlin gathering herbs.) He must see the Panic in my eyes, because he smiles reassuringly at me, and I smile back. I am still very afraid, and I know that he can tell, because then he grabs my hand and squeezes it quickly. A friendly gesture, but I find myself blushing, and looking away.

We hear the King enter the throne room, and Merlin drops my hand. The king sits on his throne, with Prince Arthur standing beside him. "So," he addresses Merlin. "My son tells me you were picking herbs, and neglected your duties to him, and just let some random girl take your place." The king looks at Merlin, while Arthurs mutters, "that is not what I said."

Merlin answers the King with a simple, "Yes, my lord," The king glares, and says to the guards, "Take Arthur's servant to the stocks, again." As the guards start to pick Merlin up off the ground, I jump up and shout, "NO!"

That got everyone's attention.

"It's my fault, your highness. I told Merlin I would help him out with his duties. And I couldn't pick the herbs, because I don't know anything about herbs, and I could have got the wrong thing, and someone might have died, and…" I know I'm rambling, but I have to save Merlin, from the stocks.

"So," the king says at last. "Are you saying you are guilty?" I nod yes. "Very well then." to the guards he says, "Put both of them in the stocks."

As Merlin and I are dragged from the courtroom to the stocks, I can hear Arthur protesting. I smile at that. Merlin sees me smiling, and looks at me like I'm a fool, I just smile bigger. Merlin smiles, soon we are both grinning like idiots, as we are taken to the stocks.

(Author note: sorry! I know I took forever to post a new chapter! Sorry again! =( )


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Merlin

"Isabella, are you okay?" I ask her quietly, we have just been drug to the stockades, and I know, all too well, that it is not very pleasant. Strangely enough I have never noticed that there two sets of stocks right next to each other. I should have noticed, I'm here often enough.

"I'm fine, Mer," she said, with a smile on her face. This girl, I've only known her for a day, but I know that only she could face the stocks with a smile. The people were starting to line up with their rotten fruit; I still don't know why people get so excited about pelting the same person with fruit. Well, I guess Isabella's new, but I'm her at least once a week!

"Wait," I said, "Where did 'Mer' come from?" She blushed; out of the corner of my eye I could see people getting ready to throw their rotten produce.

"I'm sorry," she stammered, embarrassed. "It just slipped out, won't happen again, I promise!" she blushed and turned her head away as much as she could in the wooden bonds she was stuck in.

"Hey," I said softly, and she turned back towards me. "You can call me 'Mer," if I can call you "Izzy," deal?" I smiled and stuck out my hand as much as I could so she could shake it.

Then the fruit started flying.

She grabbed onto my hand, and didn't let go. Now it was my turn to blush, I turned to look at her, and realized that the people were mostly throwing things at her. But I could tell that they were throwing to rotten fruit at me, it looked like they were throwing fresh things at her. I could see a bruise forming on her cheek, from what looked like a potato.

She never cried out, she just gripped, my hand tighter. I was about to tell her how brave she was, and about my first time in the stocks.

That's when I saw the rock, flying right towards her.

Arthur

I never wanted Father to put Merlin and Isabella in the stocks, but once his mind was made up, there was no changing it. I did argue a bit, but to no avail. I considered arguing a bit more, but I decided not to. Instead, I went to guard the stocks, to make sure Isabella didn't get harmed, oh, and of course Merlin too.

I took the back way to the courtyard, and what I saw was, to say the least, very odd. I saw Isabella and Merlin laughing! Laughing! As they were being drug to the stocks! I almost couldn't believe what I saw; I was still shaking my head in disbelief, when I arrived at the stocks.

I saw Merlin and Isabella talking, and I felt a twinge of…..Jealousy? No, that can't be it, I can't be jealous because of seeing Merlin talking to some girl I had just met! Not even met! She just kind of…..Showed up!

Before I could continue my thoughts, Gwaine can up and started talking to me, and I stopped watching them for one second. But my thought stayed with them, they were holding hands, while they were being pelted with fruit. Merlin had just said something that made her smile. I wish I could make her smile like that.

Then I heard a scream.

And then there was silence.

And then I heard Merlin shouting for me.

"Arthur! I mean Sire! Help!" My manservant shouted I ran over as fast as I could in chainmail.

"Tell me! What is it?" I was frantic.

"It's Izzy-Isabella, she got hit with a rock!" he said, more frantic than me. That's when I looked over and saw her limp form, slumped, and bleeding profusely from her forehead.

"Guards! Get them out of here! NOW!" I shouted.

When they were free from their bonds, I shouted to Merlin, "Help me carry her to your chambers," and I started to lift her, when Merlin stopped me.

"Wait! I need to stop the bleeding," and with that he untied his neckerchief and pressed it on the place she was bleeding. She groaned in pain, and Merlin bit his lip and whispered, "I'm sorry Izzy."

We picked her up, and all but ran up the stairs to Merlin's chambers. Merlin handed her to me, and silently pointed to his bed, I placed her, ever so gently, in his bed. I had another brief flash of jealousy of her being in another man's bed.

I gave her one last look before I rushed to Merlin's side, "What can I do?" I asked.

Merlin didn't even hesitate, "Get me the jar with the blue liquid, and the one with the red powder." When I stopped for a moment, he shouted, "Now!" and I sprung into action.

Once I gave him the jars, he poured the contents into a bowl, and started mixing it into a paste. I just stood, awestruck. I was amazed that he knew how to do this. And before I knew it, he was moving to where Isabella lay.

He gently pushed her dark hair, tangled and mixed with rotten produce, out of her face. And wiped around the area where she got cut with a wet cloth. Then he started to apply the paste, as soon as it touched her head, she moaned in pain and half opened her eyes.

"Mer?" she asked, "What's going on, where am I, what happened?"

"Shhh, you're okay," he said gently, "You got hit with a rock, and you're bleeding badly, but I'm fixing you up, you'll be fine by tomorrow. Just rest now." She half smiled.

"You're always fixing me up. Sorry." And that's all she said before she fell asleep.

Merlin stood from where he was sitting on his bed, "Come on, Arthur, we need to let her rest." And we quietly left the room.

"Merlin, is there anything else I can do?" I asked, wanting a reason to stay near her.

"No," he said, "Just go back to your chambers; I'll bring you dinner shortly."

I nodded and started to leave, and then I turned back and said, "Tell Isabella, when she wakes up, that I want her to be your assistant, she can help you with your chores, without repercussions."

"Thank you, Arthur; I'm sure she'll love that." He smiled at me.

And with that I turned at left.

(Author note: Sorry I took so long to post! I have had a ton of homework! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, reviews are awesome!)


	5. Chapter 5

(Author Note: Hello, and sorry! I'm very sorry that I haven't posted in so long! But I'm posting now! Word stopped working on my laptop, so I'm typing this in the "Copy-N-Paste" section. So if there are any spelling errors, I'm sorry. Anyway, on with the story!)

Chapter 5

Isabella

I'm running through a forest, my feet are bare, and my body aches. I don't remember who I am running from, I just know I have to get away. All of a sudden, I fall over an upturned tree. I lie on the ground, waiting for death. I hear the footsteps of a horse nearby and I hold my breath, in hope that whoever is on that horse doesn't hear me. A branch snaps nearby, and I close my eyes tight, waiting for the killing blow.

My hair is grabbed, and I am hoisted up on my feet, a familiar voice says, "Open your eyes, Isabella, look at me!"

I open my eyes slowly and see that a woman in a mask is standing before me. From what I can see she is about my size, and shape. She has a long knife in her hand, which she presses to my face, I feel it cutting into my flesh.

"How can I look at you," I hear myself saying, "when you wear a mask? If I am to die, let me look at the face of the one who kills me." She smiles a cruel smile, and slowly starts to take off her mask. I gasp, and find myself looking at a face I have seen everyday of my life, my face.

I start to back away, when she says, "Wake up, Isabella, wake up!"

I jolt awake, and find myself looking into the face of a concerned Merlin. At first, he looks startled, then his face breaks into the grin I love so much.

"You're awake!" Before I can ask what happened to me, he says, "When we in the stocks, you were hit with a rock, and it knocked you out. Arthur ordered that we be released so that your head could be looked at." When I tried to say something he quickly said, "Oh, and I almost forgot! Arthur said that you can help me with my duties, without repercussions." He smiled. "I'm so happy you are awake!" He said quickly, then hugged me.

I froze, I hadn't had someone hug me in a very long time, his hug took me by surprise, but I quickly hugged him back. When he pulled away, he looked shy. "I'm sorry," He muttered, looking at his feet.

"No, i'm sorry, Merlin. It's just," I pause, "I haven't had anyone hug me - even touch me, in away that doesn't cause me pain - in a long time, since before i got captured." Now its was my turn to look away. Merlin put a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"Hey," he says, "Look at me." When I look up, he smiles; I try to smile back, but it feels more like a grimace. "Its okay, if you don't feel comfortable with me touching you, I won't. Simple as that." With this he removes his hand from my shoulder, I instantly miss its warmth.

Before I can say anything else, he stands up and says, "Now, you have a very long day ahead of you. You need to bring Arthur, Oh, sorry, I mean The Prince," At this he rolls his eyes," His breakfast, and wake him up." I nodded, and he continued, "You also have to help him get dressed, he is utterly hopeless at dressing himself." He smiles, and if he noticed to shock on my face, he doesn't say anything. "Do you have all that?"

"Yes, i've got it." I say, and try to hide my horror (And interest) at having to help Arthur dress.

"Great! You can borrow my clothes until we can get you some of your own." He says, as he is leaving the room, "Oh, and sorry! I would help you today, you know, with Arthur, but Gaius sent me a letter. He isn't coming back for another month, so I have to take over as physician for him. Sorry." with this he smiles, and leaves me to get dressed.

When he leaves, i start to panic. "Working for the Prince, all by myself!" I think to myself. "this will be interesting."

I quickly dress in Merlin's clothes (A red shirt, blue neckerchief, black pants, and a brown jacket.) and leave the room that has become mine in my short stay in Camelot.

Merlin looks up from whatever concoction he is making, and smiles at me. 'You know," he says, "I will never get used to someone else wearing my clothes!" he sees the look on my face, and rushes to say, "Don't worry, you look better that I do!"

I blush, and mutter a "thanks" at my feet.

He smiles, "Okay, Izzy. Are you ready to face Arthur?" He said Jokingly. I nod yes, and make my way to the kitchen. But nothing could have prepared me for what was to come.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**(Hello! Still very sorry that I didn't post for a long time, but, as you can see, I'm getting better! I don't know exactly where I'm going with this story, I'm just making it up as I go along. Please Review! I'll keep writing even if people don't review, but I do like to know if you like what I'm writing. And, if you have any suggestions, please, PM me, Maybe I'll use some of them! Now, on with the story. Enjoy...)**

**Isabella**

"Arthur, I mean, Sire, wake up." I am standing over Arthur's bed, trying, without much luck, to wake him up. "Sire, please, wake up!" I try gently shaking him by the shoulder, he stirs, but falls back asleep. I sigh, first day on the job and I can't even wake Arthur up. I sigh again, and look at Arthur. He sleeps without a shirt, and his muscular chest is in full view, he looks peaceful when he sleeps, not nearly as stressed.

"Sire," I say, shaking him a little harder, "Sire, awake up!" He begins to sit up, "Finally," I think to myself.

"Merlin," He says, slurring a little. "Do you have my breakfast?"

"Yes, Sire." I say, and decide not to tell him that I'm not Merlin, just to see how long it will take him to figure it out.

Arthur stands up, I shriek and then clap my hand over my mouth, as his sheet falls away from his body. He looks at me with confusion, then recognition, as he attempts to cover himself with his hands. Wordlessly, I walk over to where the sheet had fallen and hand it to him. He grabs it quickly, with a muttered thank you, and drapes it over his shoulders, hiding his fully exposed body from my view.

We stand there, staring at each other, matching blushes paint our cheeks. Arthur starts to chuckling nervously, I smile at him and turn away to begin preparing his breakfast.

"Sire," I say as though nothing happened, "Merlin told me that your father requests your presence in the throne room after you finish eating, and get dressed." I look at him to see if he was listening, and he meets my eyes and blushes again.

"Yes, of course," He says, and he clears his voice. "Isabella."

"Yes, Sire."

"I..." he says then stops, "I see no reason for you to call me 'Sire' when we are alone, if you wish, you may call me Arthur." He pauses again. "If that's alright with you."

I smile, "Of course, Arthur." He eats in silence, and I stand, unsure of what to do. When I see that he is done eating I begin to clear away his plates, and say, "Will you need assistance getting dressed?" I blush, praying that he says 'no.'

**Arthur**

"Will you need assistance getting dressed?" Isabella asks me nervously.

Not wanting a repeat of earlier, I quickly say, "No!" Then I realize that this could come off as rude, I add, "I think I can manage, thank you."

"Of course," She says with obvious relief, "If that will be all, may I go?"

"Yes, of course." She starts to leave, and I say, "Isabella, can you send Merlin in to me?" She smiles, nods, then, to my disappointment, leaves.

Still wrapped in my sheet I sink to the floor with my head in my hands, saying, "No," over and over again. "Arthur?" I hear Merlin say, "What's wrong?"

I stand, holding my sheet tightly, and begin telling Merlin the horrors of this morning. As I am talking I see Merlin start to smile, then he starts to giggle, then he starts laughing so hard he falls over, and begins to roll on the ground. I finish my story, and wait for him to stop laughing.

"Merlin!" I shout, "This is serious!"

Merlin is still laughing, "Of course, Arthur. It's very serious... for Izzy! You should have seen her when she came into my chambers, she was so embarrassed, she says she will never come out of her room. Which is a problem for me, because its my room too! She doesn't think you'll ever want to see her again. Also, she thinks its to hard to wake you up, she says she almost had to slap you."

Before I could say anything, Merlin added, "Of course she didn't slap you, and I told her that you would want to see her again." Then he seemed to come to his senses, "Arthur! Get dressed, you have to meet your father!"

"Merlin!" I say, "If you would let me speak, I would tell you why I'm not dressed." I take a deep breath, "I didn't want to embarrass Isabella further by having her dress me, and you know how bad I am at dressing myself."

"Of course, Sire! Let me help you." He starts to chuckle again, "I can't believe Izzy saw you naked!"

"I thought she was you!" I roar. "She was wearing your clothes! And why do you keep calling her Izzy?"

Merlin stops smiling, "She is wearing my clothes, because when I found her, her dress was too torn for her to continue wearing it."

My anger fades away, "What do you mean, 'when you found her?'

Merlin sighed, "When I meet Izzy, she was running for her life out of the woods. She ran into me, begged for help, then passed out. I snuck her into the castle, and tended to her wounds.

"Arthur, she looked like she had been beaten more than once, her back was covered in cuts, new and old. When she woke up, she told me she had been a prisoner somewhere, and that whoever had captured her had used magic on her.

"She also said that she overheard the man who was holding her captive say something about her being ' a great weapon against Camelot.' She told me that she would leave when she recovered when I told her she was in Camelot, but I wouldn't let her."

When Merlin paused, I said, "Merlin, you did the right thing. You were right to make her stay, this way she cannot be used a weapon against us."

"Is that all you think about?!" Merlin shouted, "I know Camelot is important, but she is a seventeen year old girl! Do you really think she, by herself, could be used against us?!"

"Merlin, watch yourself when you are speaking to me! I am still the Prince," I say, more angry than I should be. "Now, please, help me dress. I still must meet my father."

"Of course, Sire." He snapped, "Please, don't say anything to your father about Izzy, she has already been punished enough."

"Of course, Merlin. You know I would never say anything." I say softly, I hate it when Merlin is mad at angry at me.

"Thank you, Sire." He says curtly, then walks out of my room. I notice that he doesn't call me 'Arthur, he always calls me 'Arthur.'

Sadly, I walk to the Throne room.


End file.
